Ranking baseball the toughest of all

High school sports rankings are usually a fun way to rile up the masses. But even though they have no impact on who finishes where, we take them seriously because we know many of you do, too.

The toughest sport for me to rank is baseball because of the biggest variable of all compared to other sports - pitching. What if one team was using its No. 3 guy in the rotation when it gets beat by another team using its ace? Some teams just don't have the pitching depth to succeed in nonconference games, but are more than capable of beating anyone when their top guys are on the mound in the conference games that matter most.

Right now, a perfect example is Rolling Meadows, which is just 9-8 overall but is the only unbeaten team in Mid-Suburban League play. Put Kentucky-bound lefty Jon Carlson on the mound and the Mustangs have a chance against just about anyone. Their No. 2 isn't bad, either, in Teddy Metzger. And on Saturday against a 14-2 Stevenson team throwing one of its Division I aces, Meadows went with senior Owen Stiff, who had thrown only 3 innings all season. Stiff gave the Mustangs a strong 6-inning performance and they hung right with Stevenson before losing 4-3 on a run in the bottom of the seventh.

Particulary in baseball, I'll always value conference games much higher than nonconference games. It's not like basketball, where conference or nonconference it's basically the same players going up against each other, or even softball, where one pitcher can throw just about every game day after day.

The key question of how a baseball team would do against an opponent's ace can't always be answered because pitchers can't throw every game. But to me it's a crucial part of the rankings process in baseball. Now, feel free to resume complaints about where your favorite team is ranked.